


When Responsibility Comes His Way

by SushiOwl



Category: Green Lantern (Comic), Justice League, The Flash (Comic)
Genre: Cute, Gen, Heartwarming, Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-17
Updated: 2012-09-17
Packaged: 2017-11-14 10:05:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/514076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SushiOwl/pseuds/SushiOwl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes Hal Jordan makes good choices.</p>
            </blockquote>





	When Responsibility Comes His Way

"So what did you do with it?" Barry asked him, leaning over to nudge him in the side with his elbow. "I bet you bought that Dodge Challenger, didn't you?"

Hal just gave a dramatic sigh, covering his face with his hands and slumping over the table. "No," he replied, his voice muffled.

After a particularly grand saving of a city and minimal property damage, the Justice League had been awarded a bonus, in cash. $20,000 cash, to be precise. No one else had really wanted or needed the money. Superman and Batman had tried very valiantly to refuse it, but they had failed. So, in the end, they had decided to give it to the person with the worst credit. That person was Hal Jordan. He was taken aback. He had never been saddled with so much money and the choices that come with it.

"No?" Barry echoed, his blonde brows peeking out of his mask as they furrowed. "Then what?"

Hal lowered his hands, looking at his friend through the corner of his eyes, before he gave a pained moan and dropped his arms to the table. "Okay, promise you won't laugh."

Barry kept his face blank. "After all of the stupid things you've done, when have I laughed?"

Frowning deeply, Hal swatted Barry on the arm. "You're a jerk," he said, though it was affectionate. Then he sat back in the tall-backed chair and looked out over the table where the League had difficult discussions and made pressing decisions. It was only him and Barry right then, but it was still a hard thing to talk about. 

"Waiting," Barry told him, leaning on his elbow and drumming his fingers impatiently on his chin.

"You know Jack, right? My brother?" he said, his voice automatically dropping as if someone was listening. If someone were, it would have been Batman. That was what he always thought.

"Yeah?" Barry prompted.

"Okay, almost two years ago his wife had a kid, a girl named Helen." A strange smile lit upon his face as he thought about the little girl. "You should see her. She is so pretty, and so smart. She started talking super early, and she calls me 'unca.'" To that he laughed, reaching up to rub his eyes. "She has such a big smile, and she lights up whenever I'm around. I never thought I would love being an uncle so much."

Barry was smiling to, but he always knew how to keep Hal on track. "And this has to do with the money...?"

"Right," Hal replied, swallowing. "I gave the money to Jack to start a college fund for Helen." He paused for all of half a second, before he added, "Well, I mean, I kept enough to pay my rent, but I gave them most of it."

Barry was staring, his head lifted off his hand, his eyes wide and his lips parted.

That look made Hal uncomfortable, and he suddenly needed to explain himself. "I just want her to get a good education. She deserves it. I want her to have all the opportunities in life to be something great, you know? I know she won't take them and totally screw them up. She won't be like me." He slapped his hand over his eyes, groaning.

But then Barry put a hand on his shoulder, and when he looked at him, he found he was smiling. "She could do a lot worse," he said.

That made Hal smile back.


End file.
